Next Years Team

[MadBird]

Ironically, Dan Monson really got Gonzaga's trajectory going in a positive direction and at the time he felt like he left for greener pastures to Minnesota, which enabled Few to step into the Gonzaga job. I'm sure seeing Monson's lack of success and pressure of succeeding at an inferior Big 10 program was a good reminder of why it's not always best to move on (Monson is now the head coach at Long Beach State).

Just to pick a little nit with you sir, that doesn't have much to do with the thread - when Monson took over Minnesota, it was coming off 13 pretty successful years under Clem Haskins. Clem had 6 trips to the NCAA, 3 trips to the NIT including 2 championships, and 8 straight years above .500. Now, Clem did have some issues it turned out with getting the boys to class and doing their homework. So, in the end, not great culture. But at the time, not really an "inferior" program. And he followed Jim Dutcher, who had "some" success including a Big 10 championship. Monson was so-so, IMHO, but also had to take over right after Clem's scandal and resulting loss in schollies. Monson had a chance to go to Washington at some point while at Minny, and that's a shot he prolly shoulda taken.

Oh, and a fair number of NBA players during Dutcher and Haskins too.

Back to our regularly scheduled programming . . . . .

 

[Bird Friend]

Great point about Lowrey changing the recruiting philosophy. At least from an outsider's perspective, it did appear that way and along with that, the overall culture and character of the recruits slipped off. I forget the exact situation but remember it went downhill fast.

Yes, Jacobsen was wise to keep recruits to his system however as I mentioned above, they have only had 2 winning seasons out of the last 7 which is not something to aspire to.

Which makes me wonder about both Jacobsen and Painter . . . are their styles falling behind? I read an article somewhere that basically said Painter's philosophy seems to be falling out of synch with the direction college BB is headed, especially come tourney time where they seem to become very susceptible to the hot underdog teams, somewhat like UVA has been. Very good teams over the long hall of the season, but not always able to adapt to the high stakes environment of the Madness where opponents often run systems you haven't encountered all year.

 

[MadBird]

You definitely have more insight into the Minnesota program than I do. I've never really paid close attention to them however from a layman's perspective looking at the Big 10, I consider them inferior compared to Ohio State, Michigan, Michigan State, Indiana, Purdue, Wisconsin, Iowa and Illinois. I'm not saying 6 trips to the NCAA and 9 straight years above .500 isn't impressive but I've never really considered them as a top Big 10 program. 6 trips to the NCAA in 13 years as an MVC team is really impressive, in the Big 10, more than half of their teams make the NCAA.

Learning what i just did from you, they had a more successful program than I was aware of however I don't consider them a top tier team and perhaps I should have used that framing instead of inferior. Middle of the pack and average at best from my perspective.

My point was just, at the time Monson took over, Minnesota was not "inferior". Now, totally different story, they're bottom tier for sure. But at that time, late 80's thru the 90's, Minnesota was at least more than inferior. He took over a program that was regularly winning, going to the post-season, and sending players to the NBA.

Like I said, nit-picking. I'm done.

 

[BirdGrad2011]

Starting to pick up steam on an assistant hire. Some hints floating around Twitter. Check some follows

 

[Adunk33]

Starting to pick up steam on an assistant hire. Some hints floating around Twitter. Check some follows

Just about simply, obviously, naming Such (a) likable assistant. Yay!

 

[DougSutton]

Just about simply, obviously, naming Such (a) likable assistant. Yay!

Starting to pick up steam on an assistant hire. Some hints floating around Twitter. Check some follows

I'm ignorant when it comes to Twitter and checking follows. If I go to coach Pedon's profile, he follows 3,884 people. Is there a way to sort by most recent follows? I'm ok waiting until they are ready to announce but since you floated this out there, I couldn't help myself but to try and look.

 

[BirdGrad2011]

I'm ignorant when it comes to Twitter and checking follows. If I go to coach Pedon's profile, he follows 3,884 people. Is there a way to sort by most recent follows? I'm ok waiting until they are ready to announce but since you floated this out there, I couldn't help myself but to try and look.

Check an assistants Twitter. Maybe don’t scroll too far down. Look for “coach”

 

[Rollbirds5]

Check an assistants Twitter. Maybe don’t scroll too far down. Look for “coach”

Is his favorite bird a Cardinal if you catch my drift?

 

[BirdGrad2011]

Alexa, play Country Roads.

 

[TBus_Birds]

Jason Slay from USF if you're not into this cryptic post stuff.

 

[Hamdonger]

I was going to say...if you're going to put these flirts and teases out there...there's gotta be a prize for those of us who aren't on Twitter a bunch. Hek I'll take on relationship swami Sutton or BigToe (Hulka) in a head-to-head guessing matchup if it means a free calzone at DP.

 

[Bdub777]

Jason Slay from USF if you're not into this cryptic post stuff.

Thank you for cutting to the chase. It is a message board….

 

[BirdGrad2011]

I was going to say...if you're going to put these flirts and teases out there...there's gotta be a prize for those of us who aren't on Twitter a bunch. Hek I'll take on relationship swami Sutton or BigToe (Hulka) in a head-to-head guessing matchup if it means a free calzone at DP.

You would’ve had to have a hell of a guess to win the prize

 

[DougSutton]

Is his favorite bird a Cardinal if you catch my drift?

Check an assistants Twitter. Maybe don’t scroll too far down. Look for “coach”

Jason Slay from USF if you're not into this cryptic post stuff.

Ok, so if I'm going to follow the cryptic messages, could this be someone out west wanting to return "home"?

Unless there is more inside intel that someone knows beyond Twitter follows however, I don't believe that is enough to base an assumption on who the next assistant coach will be. Our coaches follow multiple assistant and head coaches, many of them could be friends or people that might have interviewed or inquired about the opening but aren't a total fit.

I'm looking forward to seeing an official announcement, whenever it's official.

 

[Hamdonger]

You would’ve had to have a hell of a guess to win the prize

Would have been like going to Final Jeopardy with $0 on all the boards.

 

[BirdGrad2011]

Ok, so if I'm going to follow the cryptic messages, could this be someone out west wanting to return "home"?

Unless there is more inside intel that someone knows beyond Twitter follows however, I don't believe that is enough to base an assumption on who the next assistant coach will be. Our coaches follow multiple assistant and head coaches, many of them could be friends or people that might have interviewed or inquired about the opening but aren't a total fit.

I'm looking forward to seeing an official announcement, whenever it's official.

Wife’s following each other is usually more than just networking

 

[Rollbirds5]

Ok, so if I'm going to follow the cryptic messages, could this be someone out west wanting to return "home"?

Unless there is more inside intel that someone knows beyond Twitter follows however, I don't believe that is enough to base an assumption on who the next assistant coach will be. Our coaches follow multiple assistant and head coaches, many of them could be friends or people that might have interviewed or inquired about the opening but aren't a total fit.

I'm looking forward to seeing an official announcement, whenever it's official.

Brandon Dunson was my guess based on the clue since Dakich, Hicks, and Pedon follow

 

[DougSutton]

Brandon Dunson was my guess based on the clue since Dakich, Hicks, and Pedon follow

I could see him potentially wanting to come home. Since high school, he's been primarily in the west coast, playing at ASU and Azusa Pacific, coaching stops at Denver, Nevada and Stanford. I'm curious how his recruiting relationships would impact Illinois State as Pedon has talked about the importance of the "bread basket" and he also talked a lot about how his hiring philosophy is based so much on relationships and trust. Great to see Brandon coaching in the Pac 12, I was unaware of where he was. He comes from a great family.

Here's a link to his bio. Regardless of where his career goes, I wish him the best....

Brandon Dunson - Men's Basketball Coach - Stanford University Athletics

Brandon Dunson joined the Stanford men’s basketball program as an assistant coach prior to the 2022-23 season, and begins his second season in 2023-24. The Cardinal

gostanford.com

 

[BirdGrad2011]

Brandon Dunson was my guess based on the clue since Dakich, Hicks, and Pedon follow

That’d be nice, but don’t see him leaving the west coast. Especially now that he’s at Stanford.

 

[BirdGrad2011]